# Identification of fetal alcohol-affected children: Alterations in imprinted gene expression and methylation as biomarkers of neurobehavioral and growth impairment.

> **NIH NIH R01** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2021 · $60,020

## Abstract

In the U.S. maternal alcohol use during pregnancy remains an important problem with
approximately 10% of women consuming alcohol and 3% reporting binge drinking [1]. Fetal
alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the most common preventable cause of birth defects
and neurodevelopmental disorders [2]. This problem is accentuated in heavily exposed
populations like the Cape Coloured in South Africa, which has one of highest prevalence of
FASD in the world [3]. Given the important consequences to child development of this prevalent
exposure, it is imperative to identify early-life biomarkers that help identify children with FASD
as early as possible so they can receive prompt targeted interventions [4]. This is the aim of the
parent R01 study “Identification of fetal alcohol-affected children: Alterations in imprinted gene
expression and methylation as biomarkers of neurobehavioral and growth impairment” (PI Dr.
Carter). In Aim 1, the parent study will characterize imprinted gene expression biomarkers in
blood and placental tissues from children prenatally exposed to alcohol and controls from the
Cape Town longitudinal Cohort Study using RNA-seq. However, placental RNA-seq data to be
generated from the parent study are composed of a mix of gene profiles from distinct cell-
subtypes within a heterogenous tissue and to date there are no studies addressing this.
The aim of the research in this supplement is to leverage recent placenta single-cell RNA-seq to
construct a panel of cell-type specific gene makers to disentangle bulk placenta RNAs-seq data
from the parent study and assess alcohol-related cell-type specific effects in these data.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10295640
- **Project number:** 3R01AA027916-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT COLIN CARTER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $60,020
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-23 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10295640

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10295640, Identification of fetal alcohol-affected children: Alterations in imprinted gene expression and methylation as biomarkers of neurobehavioral and growth impairment. (3R01AA027916-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-08 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10295640. Licensed CC0.

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